When I came across this map that shows the spread of liberalized marijuana laws in the United States, the first state that turned light green leapt out at me.
Oregon! (click on image to activate; or check out the Atlantic Wire story that has the map).
Indeed, Wikipedia confirms that the year I moved here, 1973, was when Oregon kicked off the national trend of decriminalizing and, recently, legalizing recreational marijiuana. In addition, a bunch of states (including Oregon) have OK'd medical marijuana for certain conditions.
Today the Oregon state Senate passed a bill that would let people with post-traumatic stress disorder get medical marijuana cards. The ignorance of some Republican legislators about medicinal marijuana is shown in this quote from the story.
Sen. Alan Olsen, R-Canby, said while he understands the responsibility to help people with this disorder he remains skeptical about whether marijuana should be used as medicine for PTSD.
“You know you could sit down with a bottle of Jack Daniels and listen to Charlie Daniels and probably get the same effect,” Olsen, a former narcotics investigator, told lawmakers.
I don't know how much marijuana you use, Sen. Olsen, but whatever the quantity is, you need to toke up more.
Obviously you haven't experienced the difference between drinking a bunch of toxic alcohol, and ingesting a natural herb whose active ingredient triggers brain receptors, some of which reduce pain (along with increasing pleasure, and without those nasty whiskey side effects.)
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